5 Ways to Paint Your Ceiling Like A Pro

Do your prep work

Much like painting other walls in your home, a professional-looking DIY job will depend a lot on the careful preparation you do in the beginning. Most light fixtures are located on the ceiling, so any bumps and dents can attract attention.

Before you start painting, start with a quick once-over sanding. This helps ensure a perfectly smooth paint job and increases paint bonding. When you’re done sanding, wipe the ceiling with a damp sponge to remove the dust.

Also, remove any furniture or fixtures that can be removed, and cover the rest – lights, ceiling fans for example – with drop sheets, rags, and painters tape.

Use a primer to cover flaws

Roof leaks, overflowing sinks, spills, and even tobacco smoke can all leave ugly ceiling stains or dinginess that is impossible to conceal with just paint. But cover the stain with a primer like Island Paints Prima Primer, a pure acrylic based paint specially formulated for exterior and interior application. It offers good retention, good alkali resistance, and excellent durability.

Consider and calculate your paint choices

Before you rush off to buy paint, stop to plan it all out first. First, your ceiling does not have to be white. Consider the existing colors of your room. What colors or textures would complement the rest of the room? Maybe a bold color could be an interesting choice that could liven up your space. Then once you’ve decided on a color, calculate how much paint you actually need.

Paint a cut-line

Typically you use paint rollers to work on the ceiling but paint rollers aren’t able to reach the corners between the wall and the ceiling so you will need to ‘cut in’ the edges with a paintbrush. Use a trim brush, with paint bristles tapered to one end. Even if you have taped the walls, a clean-cut line takes some care.

Start painting

Start by pouring paint into the roller tray no higher than where the ‘washboard’ part of the tray starts to slope away from the paint pool. This is so you avoid submerging the roller into the paint, which will put too much paint on the ends of the roller, where it can drip and get onto your walls. (You don’t want that.)

Paint in small sections of about three to four feet square, depending on your reach and how close you are to the ceiling. Roll back and forth in straight lines, overlapping each line. Try to distribute the paint evenly in the section you’re painting.

Remember to paint slowly, otherwise, you’ll create splatter. When you’re done with a section, move on to a section beside it and overlap the previous section. After the first coat dries, check closely for any issues, like a drop of paint that’s dried, or areas that you may have missed.